嘉賓評判

The winner of numerous international piano competitions, pianist Ivan Yanakov has been heard to great critical acclaim in Asia, Europe and North America, most recently in France, Britain, Austria, Germany, Italy (more than 150 concerts), Andorra, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, China, and the United States. He has performed as soloist with orchestras in Europe and throughout Asia, and has appeared in halls that include the Tokyo Metropolitan Arts Center, Kitara Hall in Sapporo, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York. He is a frequent guest of international music festivals. He recently performed with musicians from London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Born in a family of musicians in Sofia, Ivan Yanakov moved to New York to pursue his musical studies. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Mannes College of Music and spent 10 years in New York, where he performed extensively in chamber music and recitals and was awarded the Artists International Debut Series Prize at Carnegie Hall. During his years in the United States, he participated in chamber music workshops conducted by violinist Pinchas Zukerman and by members of the Tokyo String Quartet. He moved to Paris and later to London, where he founded the London Chamber Players, a chamber orchestra comprised of young professionals with a home season at Saint-Giles-in-the-Fields, in Central London.

As a conductor, Ivan Yanakov made his conducting debut with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in 2010. He studied conducting with Michael Charry in New York, and has attended various conducting masterclasses.

Ivan Yanakov has appeared on live television and radio broadcasts throughout North America and Europe via satellite, including Live from the Los Angeles Museum of Art.

Since 2003, the he has been frequently invited to record at the Bulgarian National Radio. He was presented in 2007 with the “Recognition of Excellence Award” by NATO’s Chief Commander in Bosnia, after performing a gala concert with the Sarajevo Philharmonic.

Mr. Yanakov was the co-founder of the Irvine Chamber Music Festival in California and of the Siena Belcanto Festival in Italy, where he also served as Artistic Director. He also a full-scholarship fellow at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. Today, he is often invited to give master classes, most recently in Turkey, China, and the Seoul National University.

Ivan Yanakov is a regular jury member of the Ernest Bloch International Competition, held annually at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2013, he will also be a jury member of the Asia Piano Competition held in Macau.

The 2013/2014 season took Ivan Yanakov once more to the Far East (Japan, China, Hong Kong, Macau), Turkey, and over 10 countries in Europe. His London season as Music Director of the London Chamber Players will explore standard and more obscure repertoire from the baroque, classical and contemporary. He resides in London.